Home-Delivered Meals

If you are 60 years of age or older and have difficulty preparing meals, you may be able to receive home-delivered meals funded by the Department for the Aging (DFTA). Eligibility must be determined by a DFTA-funded case management agency. Eligible seniors may choose to receive daily delivery of hot meals or twice-weekly delivery of fresh-frozen meals.

Note: If you are living with HIV/AIDS, cancer or other life-altering illnesses, you may be able to receive customized home-delivered meals from God's Love We Deliver.

If you need assistance performing activities of daily living in the home such as bathing, transferring, feeding, and/or housekeeping, you may be eligible to receive DFTA-funded home care. Eligibility must be determined by a DFTA-funded case management agency.

Note: If you receive Medicaid or are eligible for Medicaid, you are not eligible for DFTA-funded home care services. Application should be submitted to the Medicaid Personal Care Program.

 If you’re caring for someone who needs home-delivered meals or in-home services, you may need caregiver support

If you feel isolated because you are not able to get out much, or need assistance with chores like shopping or help getting to appointments, these volunteer-provided social services can be your lifeline not only to greater independence but to people who care.

Here are some organizations that provide one or more of these services.

Visiting Neighbors serves seniors living in lower Manhattan south of 30th Street from river to river and the Forest Hills/Rego Park communities of Queens. Call 212-260-6200 or email info@visitingneighbors.org

DOROT offers friendly visiting, shopping and escort service for seniors living between E. 14th and E. 96th streets and between W.59th and W.125th streets in Manhattan. Call 212-769-2850 between 9:30-12:30 daily. Visit a directory of additional New York City friendly visiting/telephone reassurance programs maintained by DOROT.

The Senior Companions Program offers friendly visiting, shopping assistance, escort and companionship in all boroughs. Volunteers are older persons themselves. Call 212-406-5044.

Encore Community Services provides friendly visiting, shopping and escort services to the midtown and Times Square/Clinton communities of Manhattan. Call 212-581-2910 ext. 124.

JASA Friendly Visiting serves Manhattan, with limited service in other boroughs. Call 212-273-5228.

SAGE Friendly Visiting Program serves LGBT seniors throughout New York City.

Friendly Visiting Program of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island serves communities in Brooklyn and Queens with friendly visiting, shopping assistance, escort and telephone reassurance. Call 718-449-5000 ext. 2212.

Pen Pals

Platinum Pals enlists high school students to send one thoughtful email a week to an interested senior “pen pal.” Enroll on-line or send an email to info@platinumpals.org.

If you're confined to your home, you don't have to lose out on attending classes or discussion groups. All you need is a phone. If you live anywhere in New York City you can participate in Dorot's University Without Walls. If you live on the upper east side of Manhattan you can participate in Stanley Isaac's Elder at Home Program. Both offer a variety of programs for homebound elders via telephone.

The Queens Public Library has an innovative teleconferencing program for shut-in Queens seniors on Tuesdays and Fridays. The Library also offers Book Video Chats with Skype to Mail-a-Book customers. Call 718-464-0084.

Library Services

You can get books, tapes and CDs through the mail just by signing up with the library.  The New York Public Library serves Manhattan, Bronx and Staten Island.

Persons who have a physical disability that makes  it impossible for them to use regular library materials may be eligible for the Talking Books program. Call (212) 206-5400 or TDD (212) 206-5458 for information about the National Library Service for the Blind, administered locally by the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library.

Carrier Alert

The Carrier Alert program trains mail carriers to recognize signs that a senior or person with disabilities is experiencing distress. Signs include the accumulation of mail in the person's mailbox. If your carrier suspect something is wrong, he or she will contact the Department for the Aging.